


Closet Cousins

by clgfanfic



Category: War of the Worlds (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-21
Updated: 2013-02-21
Packaged: 2017-12-03 04:19:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/694039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A  missing scene from the episode "Goliath is My Name."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Closet Cousins

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Green Floating Weirdness #22 under the pen name Gillian Holt.

_"This isn't a game.  It's real.  Life and death."_

 

          "Colonel," Harrison said, reaching out to grab Ironhorse's arm, "I think I should talk to him.  Please."

          Paul hesitated a moment, then nodded.  The young man was too smart for his own good, and he hadn't believed a single word of the cover story the colonel had given him.  "Just remember this project is top secret, Doctor."

          "Colonel, sometimes the truth is the only answer."

          Ironhorse's eyes narrowed dangerously.  "If you're—"

          "Colonel," Harrison hissed softly, "this young man has just lost several of his friends to aliens.  He and his teammates were taken hostage by an alien.  Don't you think he's going to make some assumptions of his own?  If we don't tell him the truth, now, he's going to go looking for answers on his own.  And we're not going to be here to stop him."

          "You don't know that."

          "Yes, Colonel, I do."

          "How?" Paul challenged.

          "Because he's a lot like me," the astrophysicist admitted.  "We're… closet cousins.  His curiosity will get the best of him and he'll start digging.  And he won't stop until he has an answer.  And then, who knows?  Maybe he'll go to the press, or—"

          "All right, all right, I see what you're saying.  But we can't run around telling everyone that Earth is being invaded by marauding aliens."

          "I agree," Blackwood replied.  "But in some cases, we do have to be honest.  Think of it this way, Colonel, it's a investment in our future."

          "An investment?"

          Harrison nodded.  "Someone like this young man might just develop a weapon we can use to destroy them."

          Ironhorse hesitated a moment, then said, "Let's hope he doesn't get the chance."

          "I couldn't agree more," Harrison said.  "But just in case…"

          The colonel sighed heavily.  "Do what you think is best, Doctor."

          "Thank you, Colonel," Blackwood said, flashing the officer a smile before he started over to where the young man sat, watching them.  When he reached the boy he extended his hand, saying, "I'm Harrison Blackwood."

          "Jason Macartney," the young man said as he took Harrison's proffered hand and gave it a shake.

          "I take it you were the commander of the Venutian team?"

          Jason nodded, his head dipping for a moment, then his chin came up and he met Harrison's gaze, holding it as he said, "I don't believe that terrorist story that colonel character told me," he stated bluntly.  "I know Jefferson— Knew, Jefferson.  We grew up together.  And that wasn't him.  Not at the end, anyway.  And no one's going to convince me he'd been brainwashed by terrorists.  When?  He was fine when we went into the tunnels, and then a few hours later he was… different."

          "Why don't you come with me?" Harrison said, gesturing for Jason to start walking.  The young man hesitated for a moment, then nodded and started off.

          Blackwood waited until they were on an empty sidewalk before he asked, "So, what are you majoring in?"

          "Physics," Jason replied.  "I just started my graduate studies."

          "And your friend?"

          "Math major.  He was supposed to graduate this year."  Jason stopped, meeting and holding Blackwood's gaze again.  "Robert Parkin's dead, too, isn't he."

          Harrison nodded.  "Yes.  I'm sorry."

          Jason shook his head.  "What about Carl and the others on the mutant team?"

          "Them, too," Harrison said softly.

          Jason walked over and dropped down on a cement bench.  "How?  Why?"

          Harrison took a deep breath, then sat down next to the young man.  He sighed heavily.  "I'd like to explain, but—"

          "Don't give me a load of crap."

          The scientist hesitated.  "The terrorist account the Colonel told you is a cover story, but then, you already knew that."

          Jason nodded, his heart beginning to race.  He knew he and the others had stepped into something big, something that was going to change his life.

          "Jason, do you believe we're alone in the universe?" Harrison asked.

          "No," the young man said immediately.

          Harrison hesitated a moment, wondering how to tell Jason the truth, but the young man saved him the effort.

          "Aliens?  Aliens were behind this?  Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

          "Yes," Blackwood said softly.

          "But that's—"

          "What?" Harrison interrupted.  "Impossible?"

          Jason sat, his mouth open as he tried to come up with a reply, but he had none.  He closed his mouth and shook his head.

          "Jason, listen, we don't know when they first arrived, but it came to a head in 1953…" Harrison started, and almost an hour later he concluded, "We think the members of the mutant team were taken over by the aliens, the same with your friend, Jefferson."

          "But why didn't the alien who absorbed Jefferson just leave with his people once they had the Y-Fever?"

          "During the theft the alien who inhabited Jefferson's body was exposed to the virus.  It caused a mutation of some kind."

          "It made him crazy."

          Harrison nodded, saying, "Yes, we think so.  Somehow the narrative of the game you were playing became real to him…"

          "What about Robert?"

          "He was killed.  He probably stumbled across the aliens while they were in the tunnels, looking for a way into the laboratory."

          Jason shook his head.  "What about Pete and Kim and—"

          Harrison raised his hands to fend off the question.  "I'm telling you," he said.  "Only you.  And I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it under your hat."

          "But they have a right to know what happened to their friends, too."

          "I know," Blackwood told him.  "But you have to understand our situation, too.  We're a small group, doing what we can to ensure we don't lose this planet to aliens.  You know what that sounds like."

          Jason frowned and sighed.  "Yeah, I guess I do."

          "The fewer people who know about us, and the aliens, the better."

          "People would freak out if they knew the truth."

          Harrison nodded.  "And that would only help the aliens."

          "All right," Jason said, "I won't say anything."

          "We appreciate that."

          "But I want to help."

          Harrison started to object, but stopped himself.  It was exactly what he'd said to Dr. Forrester all those years ago.  And he had only been a small child at the time.  "Then you might want to consider a transfer."

          "Transfer?  To where?"

          "The New Pacific Institute of Technology, in California.  Talk to Dr. Ephrim Jacobi, he'll see to it you're admitted – your grades are good, aren't they?"

          "Yeah, but I'm not sure they're _that_ good," Jason replied.

          Harrison grinned.  "I'll bet they are.  In any case, he can make sure you'll be working on projects that might help us defeat this enemy."

          "I could move over the summer," Jason said, "be ready to start in the Fall."

          Harrison fished into his shirt pocket and pulled out the small pad of paper he carried with him, then located a pen in his jacket pocket.  He wrote down Jacobi's name and phone number.  "Tell Ephrim I sent you to him, and that you know about Dr. Forrester's work."

          "You don't want to talk about the aliens over the phone, right?"

          "No."

          Jason nodded.  "I can understand that.  You'd need a code to ensure they didn't find out about you…"

          "Jason," Harrison said, his voice soft, but intense.  The young man looked up.  "This isn't a game.  It's real.  Life and death."

          Jason thought a moment, then nodded.  "I know.  I understand."

          "Good," Harrison said.  "I also want you to promise me that you won't do anything until you get to PIT.  I don't want you to go looking for the aliens by yourself.  You have to promise me you won’t do that – your word of honor."

          Jason scowled, but he sighed and nodded.  "As long as I can help when I'm there."

          "Deal," Harrison said, proffering his hand again.  Jason shook it.

          "Can I ask you a question?" the young man asked.

          "Sure," Blackwood replied.

          "What do you do?  I mean, who gets to fight aliens?  You're not in the military, like that other guy, right?"

          Harrison grinned.  "No.  No, I'm not in the military.  I'm an astrophysicist, but we also have a microbiologist and a computer scientist on the team.  And a military man."

          Jason grinned.  "Yeah, guess he might come in handy once in a while, huh?"

          "Very," Harrison admitted, "but if you ever tell the Colonel I said so, I'll deny it."

          "Gotcha," Jason said, smiling.  "Man, it's… incredible.  I mean, here we are, playing Aliens and Asteroids, and there's _real_ aliens on campus…"

          "It does put a different spin on things," Harrison said, his tone wistful.  He knew the young man's life would never be the same.  He had lost his innocence, his ability to gaze into the heavens and feel only wonder and curiosity, just like he had all those years ago.

          "Yeah, it does," Jason whispered.

          "We better head back, before the Colonel comes looking for us.  Just remember, this is just between you and me."  Harrison stood.

          Jason nodded.  "Until I get to PIT."

          Blackwood reached out and rested a hand on the young man's shoulder.  "Yes, until then.  But even there, only a handful of professors know about the aliens.  People we trust."

          "I won't give you a reason not to trust me… Dr. Blackwood," he said, standing.

          "It's Harrison," the astrophysicist corrected.  "I don't care much for labels, especially doctor labels."

          "Harrison," Jason repeated, then asked nervously, "Can I, uh…  Could I maybe call you sometime?"

          Harrison smiled.  "Of course."  He took back the piece of paper he'd handed the young man and added the number for the Cottage.  "Any time you need to."

          "Thanks," Jason replied, tucking the piece of paper into his pocket.  "I think I might need to talk to someone… when this all sinks in."

          Harrison kept his hand on Jason's shoulder as they turned and headed back to find Suzanne and Ironhorse.


End file.
